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Why don't people wear seatbelts?
NHTSA did a study to find out. One of the biggest problems was comfort, particularly for shorter women. 62% of the women surveyed reported pressure or pain on various parts of the body and 47% reported being choked by the seat belt.
The Seatbelt Positioner, by SeatbeltMasters eliminates this discomfort and positions the seatbelt in front of the shoulder and collarbone rather than against the neck. this also lets the belt cross the center of the chest. This is not only more comfortable but also is far safer.
(from NHTSA website)
The previous chapter also suggested that being overweight could deter seat belt use, presumably through discomfort. However, the pattern was less clear with respect to professed annoyance with seat belts. Although the highest percentage of respondents expressing discontent occurred in the heaviest weight group for both males (35%) and females (44%), most of the remaining weight groups were close enough for the differences to be statistically insignificant.
All drivers, whether or not they wore their seat belts regularly, were asked if there was anything that they particularly disliked or found annoying about wearing them. More than one-third (36%) answered "Yes." Almost all the rest responded that there was not any particular thing they disliked (63%). Less than 1 percent (0.2%) said that they did not know, or else refused to respond.
Although the previous chapter showed females more likely than males to wear seat belts, they also were more likely to complain about the devices. More than four out of ten females (42%) said there was something they particularly disliked or found annoying about wearing their seat belt compared to fewer than one-third (31%) of males
Not surprisingly, persons who infrequently wore their seat belt were most likely to report annoyances. Whereas 34% of drivers who reported wearing their seat belt "all of the time" while driving also said there was something particularly annoying about the belt, 41% of "most of the time" users and 45% of "sometime" users voiced similar complaints. Slightly more than one-half of those who rarely or never wore their seat belt said that there was something they disliked or found annoying about it.
If respondents said there was something they particularly disliked or found annoying about seat belts, they were asked to specify what bothered them. The most common complaint involved pressure or pain on various parts of the body (53%). Females (62%) especially experienced this type of discomfort, particularly being choked by the seat belt (47%).
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TABLE 30
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| Dislikes/Annoyances | Total (N=1357) |
Males (N=566) |
Females (N=791) |
||||||
| Discomfort: Body Pressure/Pain | 53% | 40% | 62% | ||||||
| Pressure on my neck/chokes me/ cuts across my neck | 37% | 24% | 47% | ||||||
| Pressure on my shoulder/shoulder strap too tight | 15% | 14% | 15% | ||||||
| Pressure on my chest/strap doesn't fit my chest | 3% | 2% | 4% | ||||||
| Pressure on my stomach/lap belt is too tight | 2% | 3% | 2% | ||||||
| Painful for body ailments | 1% | * | 1% | ||||||
| Belt Too Tight | 4% | 5% | 3% | ||||||
| Discomfort: Body Irritation | 10% | 8% | 11% | ||||||
| Irritates/chafes my skin/rash | 9% | 8% | 11% | ||||||
| Makes me perspire/perspire when it's hot outside | * | * | - | ||||||
| Seat belt should be padded/material is too harsh | * | * | * | ||||||
| Discomfort: Other | 13% | 15% | 11% | ||||||
| Uncomfortable (unspecified) | 11% | 14% | 9% | ||||||
| Uncomfortable during pregnancy | 1% | - | 1% | ||||||
| Claustrophobia/claustrophobic | 1% | 1% | * | ||||||
| Any other discomfort mentions | * | * | 1% | ||||||
| * Less than 0.5% - Zero cases Numbers do not add to 100% due to multiple response. |
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| Dislikes/Annoyances | Total (N=1357) |
Males (N=566) |
Females (N=791) |
||||||
| Confining | 15% | 21% | 10% | ||||||
| Feel restricted/too confining/constricting | 10% | 15% | 6% | ||||||
| Hard to turn around/look behind me when backing up | 2% | 3% | 2% | ||||||
| Hard to lean forward | 2% | 3% | 1% | ||||||
| In case of crash/emergency/it's hard to get out of car | 2% | 2% | 1% | ||||||
| Any other movement restrictions mentions | 1% | 1% | 1% | ||||||
| Other | |||||||||
| Wrinkles my clothes | 8% | 5% | 10% | ||||||
| Need to adjust seat belt for my size | 7% | 5% | 9% | ||||||
| Seat belt is loose fitting | * | * | 1% | ||||||
| Seat belts are a nuisance/hassle/annoyance | 4% | 6% | 3% | ||||||
| Invasion of privacy/taking away constitutional rights | 4% | 7% | 1% | ||||||
| Takes too much time to fasten seat belt | 2% | 3% | 2% | ||||||
| Manual buckling/release it manually | 3% | 4% | 2% | ||||||
| Any other seat belt adjustment mentions | 1% | * | 1% | ||||||
| Seat belt gets stuck (unspecified) | 2% | 3% | 2% | ||||||
| Seat belt gets stuck in door | * | * | * | ||||||
| Any other seat belt malfunction mentions | 1% | 1% | * | ||||||
| Automatic seat belt gets in the way | 1% | 1% | 1% | ||||||
| Don't like automatic seat belts | 1% | 2% | 1% | ||||||
| Any other miscellaneous mentions | 1% | 2% | 1% | ||||||
| Don't know/no answer | 2%
|
2% | 2% | ||||||
| * Less than 0.5% | |||||||||
